Saul was the son of a distinguished Jew by the name of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. He was tall, among the people he was a
whole head higher, and no one of the Israelites was more handsome than he.
Soon after Saul was anointed, Samuel called the
people together to elect a king. Lots were cast. The lot fell on Saul, and he
was declared king. The people, admiring his height and beauty, cried out,
"Long live the King!"
When Saul was made king, Samuel said to all the
people: "If ye fear the Lord and serve Him and hearken to His voice and
do not resist the mouth of the Lord, and ye and your king that reigns over you
follow the Lord, it will be well with you. But if ye do not hearken to the
voice of the Lord, and ye resist the mouth of the Lord, then shall the hand of
the Lord be upon you and upon your king" (I Samuel 12:14-15).
Saul, in the first years of his reign, acted
according to God’s will, showing himself worthy of having been chosen. He
gained for himself the people’s love by many victories over the enemy. But when
he stopped carrying out God’s commands, having become presumptuous, the Spirit
of God left him and Saul became gloomy and cruel.
Samuel grieved over Saul. The Lord said to him,
"How long dost thou mourn for Saul? Go to Bethlehem, to Jesse, for I have
seen among his sons a king for me." Samuel went to Bethlehem and at God’s
direction anointed David, the son of Jesse, from the tribe of Judah, to be king.
The Spirit of God descended on David. David was the younger son of Jesse,
blond, with beautiful eyes and a pleasant face. He was agile and brave, had a
gentle and kind heart and was famed for his fine playing on the harp.
Saul was sick at heart and depressed from the
action of an evil spirit. He was advised to divert himself with music, and he
was told that in the town of Bethlehem at the house of Jesse was Jesse’s son,
David, who could play the harp well. David was summoned to the palace. When he
came and played on the harp, Saul became better and more cheerful. Then the
evil spirit left him.
Note: See
I Samuel, chaps. 10:17-27,11-16.
David’s Victory Over Goliath.
Once, during the reign of Saul, a battle took
place between the Israelites and the Philistines. When the forces attacked each
other a giant by the name of Goliath appeared from the Philistine camp. He
shouted to the Israelites, "Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in
battle array against us? Choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to
me. And if he will be able to fight against me and shall smite me, then we will
be your servants, but if I should prevail and smite him, ye shall be our
servants, and serve us" (I Sam. 17:8-9). For forty days, in the
morning and the evening, this giant appeared and laughed at the Israelites,
reviling the army of the living God. King Saul promised a huge reward to anyone
who could defeat Goliath, but no one of the Israelites was of a mind to set
himself against the giant.
At this time David came to the Israelites’ camp to
visit his older brothers and brought them food from their father. Having heard
what Goliath said, David volunteered to fight with this giant and asked the
King to give him permission.
But Saul said to him, "Thou art a mere youth,
and he a man of war from his youth."
David replied, "Thy servant was tending the
flock for his father, and when a lion came and a she-bear and took a sheep out
of the flock, then I went forth after him and smote him and drew the spoil out
of his mouth. And as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat,
and smote him and slew him. The Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the
lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this
uncircumcised Philistine."
Saul agreed and said, "Go, and the Lord be
with thee."
David placed five smooth stones in his shepherd’s
bag, took a sling, and went out against Goliath. Goliath looked at David, who
was very young, with contempt, and mockingly said, "Am I as a dog, that
thou comest against me with a stick and stones?"
David replied, "Thou comest to me with
sword and with spear and with shield, but I come to thee in the name of the
Lord God of hosts, of the army of Israel which thou hast defied this day. And
the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand… and all the earth shall know
that there is a God in Israel" (I Sam. 17:45).
When Goliath began to approach, David ran to meet
him, laid a stone in the sling and hurled it at the giant. The stone hit him
right on the forehead, and Goliath fell senseless to the ground. David ran up
to Goliath, took Goliath’s own sword and with his own weapon cut off his head.
When they saw this, the Philistines, terror-stricken, took to their heels and
the Israelites chased them to the very gates of their cities and killed many.
Saul made David the military leader. Then he gave his daughter to him in
marriage.
When Saul and David returned victorious, the
Israelite women came out to meet them singing and dancing, and they cried,
"Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands." This
was unpleasant for King Saul. He began to envy David’s glory and pondered on
killing him. David withdrew to the desert and hid from Saul until his death.
Note: See
I Samuel, chaps. 16-31.
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